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Written by a former National Geographic employee who also proudly served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The very first entry for the Geographic Travels Geo-Literacy Outreach Awards has been officially submitted. Sangeeta Deogawanka and Vasundhara Deogawanka propose to do a local regional geography study and presenting the results to locals to inform them about how geography can show risks to their community.

Feel free to comment on the proposal and let the board know what you think!

And remember, you still have time to apply for the $500 in awards for promoting Geo-Literacy!

Geo-literacy Project on Meghalaya, India

Meghalaya
is a small state in north-eastern India, nestled amongst the hills of
the Patkai mountain range. Its people are one of the earliest settlers
of the Indian subcontinent, largely belonging to three tribes; the
Khasi, Garo and Jaintia. They are of Paleo-Mongoloid, Proto-Australoid
and Tibeto-Burma descent, who have remained inaccessible to the outside
world for centuries. Cradled within a region that boasts of a unique
geography and climatic conditions, they have been dependent on the
forest wealth for their livelihood. Although their first encounters with
civilization were the missionaries from the Western world, it is only
in recent times that the inimitable potentials of the region have
brought them in sudden limelight, bringing in its fore instant cash and
recognition.

These indigenous people may not have ventured beyond the hills, yet
have had access to good education, thanks to the ongoing efforts of
missionary institutions.

The ‘living roots bridge’ that has suddenly become hyped amongst
curious travelers, is a centuries-old adaptation by the hilly tribes for
communication across streams and gullies. For development in the
north-east has been sporadic at best till the late 20th
century. The oldest double-decker root bridge is barely accessible, and
tests the most rigorous of trekkers. Tourists come to visit but feel
cheated when they leave without savoring this remarkable man-made
feature, merely because of lack of infrastructure or local guides.

True to its namesake, the State of Meghalaya (the 'abode of
clouds') is a place where clouds and rains are a part of life. Cloud
cover frolics and plays peek-a-boo with the rains. The capital,
Shillong, has long been tagged as the 'Scotland of the East'. Forested
hills interspersed with bare rocky outcrops, pine forests veiled in
cloudy mists, gushing streams and cascading waterfalls, give way to the
plains of Bangladesh in the east, this is a paradise to behold and
sustain. Meghalaya has yet another claim to fame. It hosts the wettest place in the world, the Mawsynram-Cherrrapunjee belt, a current tourist lure.

We
have many celebrities who have their roots in Shillong. Yet decades
hence, the fortune of the people of Meghalaya does not seem to have
changed significantly.

The hills are rich in limestone and coal deposits. Mining is
proliferate and unscientific, primarily rat hole method, posing risk and
challenge to resources. The fact that Meghalaya, essentially a tribal
State, is governed by regulations that allow for the individual or
community to be the land owners, has led to indiscriminate mining
rights. Small firms have spawned, leading to various problems
atypical of an unregulated sector that taps natural resources of a
region.

Agriculture is a learning curve for these tribal communities, as
Government initiatives introduce strawberry, pineapple and plum farming
to the region. Historically, betel nuts, bamboo and broom-grass have
been the backbone of this agrarian economy, while medicinal plants
native to this region are used only by local community.

It is recently that Meghalaya has discovered the enormous potential
of tourism and mining, a boon in some ways with instant cash inflows,
but perhaps a bane in disguise. To the outsider, it seems a terrific
tourist hub with amazing eco tourist destinations scattered across the
hills offering amazing adventure tourism opportunities. Hotels and
cabbies are the most visible feature in and around Shillong town. At a
rough estimate tourist cabs and vehicles constitute about 60 % of
vehicular traffic, in the peak months, while characteristically outmoded
trucks, belching heavy fumes form another 30 %. Ironically these heavy
duty vehicles that have long outlived their purpose, belong to the
mining firms dotting this region, that are already playing havoc with
the ecological balance. Roads are also being broadened, as the Meghalaya
Government realizes that communication is the first step to development
and revenues. Mining and development work in tandem to envelop the
hills in random haze of strong fumes. The 16 year old taxi driver keeps asking me what it is like in my
city, "if you do not have hills, then what is there?" The teenage
workers at the tourist resort could not be faulted for placing the forks
and spoons wrong. All they have known is their humble abode on the
hillside and the local English school.

As I drove through the roads shrouded in thick cloud cover, I
wondered. What if the local communities are more informed? What if the
local communities were trained at conserving their own resources and
regulate tourist development? Shouldn't they be aware of the hazards of
rampant mining and forest degradation and take suitable precautionary
measures, or be ready for situations brought about by unplanned
development?

It occurs to me this would make for an ideal implementation of a community-driven geo-literacy project.

Project Roadmap

Stakeholders
are the local tribal community, who are ill informed about their rights
and are now being lured away from the responsibilities to their land.
Unless they fathom what serves their interests best, both in the
short-term and in the long course, they shall be the ones to bear the
cost of geo-illiteracy.

Work breakdown structure

The
approach to most issues has a geographical perspective. In an
eco-sensitive region, where community is the prime stakeholder,
information is the first step.

This can be achieved through:

Mapping of resources, potential sources of livelihoods, current
threats to land and potential threats from over-exploitation at macro
and micro levels, with a view to educating

a) about the issues surrounding the region

b) about the fallacies of speedy development

Targeted audience would be north-east India governance, tourists, legal systems, NGOs, media and business sector, as well as the local community, the prime stakeholders.

Phase (A)

(i) Map the soil and mineral deposit areas, with eco-sensitive zoning

(ii)
Map current mining areas, including operations like limestone mining by
Lafarge in forested areas that goes against the legal norms

(iii) Map tourist attraction areas, with data about sensitive zones

(iv) List current threats to the environment - from both mining and tourist overkill

(v) List potential threats to both the environment and local community

Phase (B)

(vi) Arrange this into an audio-visual presentation, PowerPoint Presentation, flier and media handout

(vii) Deliver such information through local church activities, schools, the tourist spots and media.

Ongoing Potential of the Project

This
project has a 'continuity' or expansion component. For the mapping of
the attractions, natural resources, and potentials would form the
baseline for potential investors or philanthropist ventures. Although I
would personally hate to see McDonalds and Café Coffee Day outlets dot
the hillscape, it would make sense to have various community led
ventures that provide income, perhaps with support from such large
enterprises.

Small villages that are little more than a collection of shanties
dot the tourist routes. Mapping is the first step to geo-literacy for
development too. Such a project has potential of calling to attention
the development of a co-operative movement across the region, that would
enable local produce to be sold at these shanty settlements, regulated
by local community. Tourists have a place where they get local stuff at
fair rates without the need for
bargaining or doubts about being cheated, for the lure of quick money
is also leading to a compromise on the quality of good on sale.

In Meghalaya it rains almost incessantly. Yet tourists brave the
rains to savor the thrills that are best enjoyed during the rainy
months. Shelters that offer umbrellas or raingear for hire, clean places
to rest and warm-up after a downpour with hygienically prepared tea and
soup, is another aspect that could be looked into in the future. This
would provide ongoing income to the families who dot these routes,
without compromising on their other sources of livelihood.

Large firms could fulfill their Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) obligation and enhance their Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
portfolio through initiatives like launderette outlets, an unknown yet
much-needed necessity for this rain-ridden region.

Non-profit organization could engage community participation for local tourist guidance and translation needs.

On a wider perspective, the youth who have never ventured outside
the region, can be funded to gain relevant skills and education for a
community driven development.

All in all, I see tremendous potential for community development in
this tribal region of Meghalaya, geared for a geo-literacy momentum.

ANNEXURE:

Work Schedule and costs involved:

(i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) would take about 60 days time. Costs involved would be approximately $200.

Tasks
(vi) and (vii) would involve about 40 to 90 days time, with clips and
literature of various lengths, dubbed in English and the local tribal
dialect.

Cost would be another $200 plus $100. Format used would be simple DVDs, CDs, and brochures.

1 comment:

I was just reading the adaptation from Robert D. Kaplan's book, "The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate," in WSJ article titled 'Geography Strikes Back'. How right he is, that technology has collapsed distance but hardly negated Geography.

It is the Geography of an area that speaks volumes of humanity's divisions, possibilities and constraints. The example of China's resource-rich ethnic cores that drives China's geographic realpolitik is similar to that of the tribal States in North-East India. While the presence of ethnic minorities have prevented attempts at democratization for fear of unleashing ethnic fury, geopolitics has artificially stimulated the region's economies through tourism and mining overkill. So even as sporadic incidents of young miners being trapped to death in the rathole mines continue, the State Government refuses to re-think its mining policies. As the region with the highest annual rainfall grapples with a situation of water crisis and contamination of water resources by acid mine drainage and widespread land degradation, it is a forgone conclusion that Geography is common sense that needs to factor-in the role of choices that affect a region's future.

Sharing some interesting quotes from the article, " before geography can be overcome, it must be respected"... "successfully navigating today's world demands that we focus first on constraints", and ...is "about working just at the edge of what is possible, without ever stepping over the brink".

All of this bears a compelling parallel to the ongoing situation in Meghalaya that calls for a strong geoliteracy and advocacy.